16 October 2019
Every year, a group of intrepid OA golfers embark on a short golfing tour abroad, usually in France, Belgium or Holland but occasionally to more adventurous places such as Morocco and even South Africa. This year 9 players including went to Bruges, a beautiful historic city and not the obvious location for a group of golfers, but OA golfers are, of course, a different breed – well-educated, cultured, and (generally) well behaved!The first drive on Monday was over 400 yards, about 100 miles in fact, via Eurotunnel to Bruges. The last 5 miles involved driving around Bruges along narrow roads, some of which were closed by excavations and others which were probably pedestrian zones judging by the looks we got from passers-by! The group checked in at Martins Hotel and explored the City. Sightseeing ended in the main Square at Café Craenenburg for a long lunch. Later they headed out to de Gastro, a delightful restaurant run by an Albanian family from Kosovo, where they ate extremely well.After a good breakfast on a somewhat windy, cloudy but dry day the golfers set off for Ostend. The golf course there is the only links course in Belgium. The Nine consisted of Mark Weatherhead (M1954-57), Neil Melvill (K1965-70), Clive Simeons (SHE1952-56), John Yule (SHE1966-71), Ian Wilson-Soppitt (P1958-61), Marcus Blake (P1951-56), Phil Murphy (K1965-70), Ian Eggleden (SHE1958-63) and Michael Beavis (SHO1980-83). Playing in 3s, Melvill and Murphy challenged 5 handicap Beavis to a match. With Melvill scoring a hole in one, Beavis was throttled. The good news for Neil was that the Bar was closed all day. However, he bought all the beer and wine at dinner at Ribs ‘n Beer, a superb restaurant serving exactly what it said on the tin. Neil then generously bought more drinks back at the hotel.The next day, golf was at Damme Golf Club, a short drive from Bruges, where it started to rain and continued throughout the day, with players getting extremely wet and finishing up dishevelled, rather than drowned rats!The course was beautiful and play was for the Prevost Salver, a magnificent silver trophy presented by our own Nigel Prevost (SHO1949-54). Played in pairs with the better score of the two counting at each hole, it was a close battle and won this year by John Yule (again!) and Clive Simeons with 37 points from Ian Wilson-Soppitt and Marcus Blake with an excellent 36 points. After a nice lunch with burgers or omelettes washed down with local beer, John and Clive were presented with the trophy. Later that day dinner was back in Bruges at a fascinating restaurant called ‘t Zwart Huis.The final day of the Tour was sunny at last and on the way to Calais the group stopped off at Dunkerque to play 18 holes. On arriving at the Eurotunnel complex, goodbyes were said before boarding the Shuttle and then driving in various directions homeward bound.All were agreed that it had been a great Tour and John Yule was rightly praised for arranging yet another really interesting and enjoyable few days. Thank you, John, and roll on 2020.Hanc Aldenham!Ian EggledenHon Secretary, OAGS